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    Results 1 to 17 of 17
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16

      Pioneer Stage 3 Camaro RS SS LSA

      After some discussions on the build of another 69 Camaro with an LSA motor many have asked for me to write my own thread on the build. The project all started a year ago in a meeting with Pioneer Electronics and they wanted to have 3 identical 69 Camaros for the 2011 CES in Vegas. We had one vehicle already so I had to go out and find two more for the project. The first car I found was an abandoned project gone sour in a garage in Redding Calif. After some discussion with the seller (John Holmes, that was his real name!) anyways I bought the car sight unseen hoping that it would not be a total rust bucket. The seller said he took care of the rust, actually he just covered it up. The car / body looked decent and once we looked over the car I decided that it had to have a complete strip down to the bare metal. I prepped the body and off to the blasters. The car came back and I said where’s the car? just kidding the body had the typical issues of rust in the rear deck and along the fender wells not to bad just cut it out and weld in new pc. The front floor pan had already been cut out along with the trunk. Easy fix. Since we were cutting and welding I got a hold of mini tubs and installed them into the back for some added room for the tires. Here are some images of the first stages of the build and a few of the finished car. I will add more detail on the build in the next thread.
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    2. #2
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16
      We only had a few months to complete this car and the sister vehicle for the CES show. Parts started to flow in starting with the Heidts Pro G front subframe assembly this was an important part because to surface the vehicle for paint you need the subframe in place. We coated the frame with paint from "Deft" this is a single stage urethane that is very easy to apply and is very durable; in fact Disney uses this paint on all its rides! I picked out a metallic dark gunmetal color and looks right at home in the engine bay. You may ask why the Heidts frame and not the others? Well in my opinion all the replacement subframes are good, it is all about preference and cost and what level are you going to be driving the car? The Heidts set up is cost effective, offers good performance, and works with their IRS which is in the back of the vehicle a solid choice for the level of this vehicle. I know people will argue all day long on which is the best, I am not racing this vehicle so to me this is a mute subject. When you see the end results it is hard to argue that it doesn’t work and besides I have been using the Heidts front suspension setups on the concept vehicles we build and it has always worked for our builds. Next in line was the motor with a little help from my friends at Mothers Polish I was able to able to obtain the LSA crate motor from GMP! It was a great day to see that motor come rolling in to our shop. Some of the body modification consist of: removed the side marker lamps, remove the gills on the qtr panels, chopped and channeled the bumpers to fit tighter to the body, remove the rear spoiler and made sure the RS grill which was added to fit tight up against the sheet metal. These subtle details make for a very clean look to the car. I also came across a pair of custom exhaust tips that we making their way to the scrap bin and added them to the build of the car. Here are some of the build images during this period.
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    3. #3
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16
      With the car in process to get the necessary paint applied we chose a color to match the Pioneer logo which just happen to be a GM color know as Torch Red. The other accent colors is a bronze matt finish that is applied to the front grill, wheels and the back of the vehicle. For all the suspension arms and bits I took a different route instead of powder coating or plating. Again we used the “Deft” paint in a titanium color that provided a unique finish on all the components which took on an industrial type look and a nice accent to the gunmetal color. From here I had the challenge to do something different in the interior, but was limited with time. One thing I hate about the 69 Camaro is the dash, 67 and 68 look so much better I wonder what the designer was thinking when they changed. The first step was to change the gauges, I gathered my Autometer components and started to sketch a new design while keeping in mind that I could not go to modern in a vehicle like this, I wanted to keep the feel of the same era. After some research on the internet I was disappointed to see what was out there. I hate to say that getting a pc of sheet metal and drilling holes to fit the gauges just did not work for me and this is the majority of what I saw. It just did not look finished. I took some design cues from the 60’s Mustangs and came up with a unique way to build a dash that looked like it was meant to be there. Here is the result.

      I also had to build a unique center console for the Pioneer AVIC-X930BT Stage 3 head unit. This unit has all the modern features, nav, blue tooth, Pandora, Satellite radio, backup camera and is able to play DVD of course not while driving! Once again I did some research on what was out there and saw that most people build a console and completely cover it with leather, looks like the parts is in leather sock. Components like this need material breaks and offsets to make the part look like it was meant to be there. So with a few little tricks of the trade I was able to construct the unit you see.
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    4. #4
      Join Date
      Mar 2009
      Location
      Kansas City area
      Posts
      365
      dont stop now we need more pictures please.
      Scott Shanks
      70 Challenger 6.1 Hemi 6-Speed

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Mar 2010
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      266
      Country Flag: United States
      whats that charcoal colored car in the background of the motor pic?

      how bought that rear suspension? looks familiar but i cant put my finger on it.

      more pics, more pics!
      Live for today, tomorrow is never promised.

      Project Eternity: https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...rs-convertible

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Dec 2005
      Location
      Birmingham, AL
      Posts
      3,356
      Country Flag: United States
      Rear suspension looks like a Heidts IRS.
      Stephen

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Feb 2009
      Location
      N.J.
      Posts
      674
      Country Flag: United States
      Great Build!
      The interior, dash & guages and especially the center console are excellent.
      Keep the pictures coming.

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16

      Update on build

      Since the Car stereo is being sponsored by Pioneer the stage 3 car had to have a system with the upscale look from the Stage 1 and 2 vehicles. We used more leather than carpet on this car along with a little help from Mr. MDF. For the interior we upgraded the seat with units from a mystery car and recovered the rear seats to match, out went the hook and loop carpet (I hate the hook and loop) and in went some nice thick pile carpeting. This really enhances the interior and is available from ACC as a stock item. The front seats are almost stock in appearance except for the different fabric; you have to cut out the original seat pan metal and fab new brackets for the new seats. For the steering wheel, that is a stock MOMO wheel with a modified center to hold a 67 Camaro fender badge, most people think it is a Corvette emblem but it is not. Emblem came from Classis Industries, one of many parts that came from them. I would have done more custom parts but time was against me and we had to finish for CES. The cars made the show along with the Austin Martin DB9 which has the Stage 4 Sound system ; here are some images from CES Still more to come
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    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jun 2011
      Location
      Brooklyn, NY
      Posts
      195
      wow, you guys do some beautiful work

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16

      Pinoeer Stage 3 Camaro RS SS LSA

      Name:  RS Camaro rendering 010.jpg
Views: 2621
Size:  88.4 KBFor the past few weeks i have working on / modifing an image that I found on the internet of a 69 SS/RS. The image / rendering was very good but the color was wrong for me. With a little help from Photoshop / actually I use Corel Photo Paint for this, anyways here is the result of the image modified to represent my current vehicle.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16

      SPOCOM 2012, FIVEAD, Five Axis, Pioneer Stage 3

      The annual SPOCOM "Sports compact " show was held this weekend in Anaheim across the street from Disneyland. This show is geared towards the import scene but the entry list had a entry for "Best Camaro" and "Best Mustang" usally reserved for the newer models. Five Axis showcase the 5AD prodcut line for the Scion FRS and we showed the Pinoeer Stage 3 build in the booth. Since this was the only muscle car in the building "200 cars" it took the show and came away with the trophy! Alot of people came buy and were stoked to see an older muscle car in the show and actually liked this car the best! Maybe it was not fair to go in and compete but the results speak for themselves maybe this will be a trend to start including these vehicle in the show.
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      Last edited by Unit2; 08-06-2012 at 03:23 PM. Reason: adding tags

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Jan 2008
      Location
      Houston, TX
      Posts
      192
      Country Flag: United States
      Nice work.
      Asa Walker
      Houston, TX

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16

      Pioneer Stage 3 Camaro update

      Its been a few years since I posted to this thread and thought it was time to showcase the upgrades to the vehicle. These are items we were not able to get through when building the car. Chip was looking at my car one day (and yes the "Chip Foose" we have history together) and he said that my engine compartment looked like a parts bin and said we should made some covers to hide all the wiring. I cold have used the LSA engine covers from the Cadillac but I never liked the look. So I looked for ideas and went after the 2011 LS3 engine cover, bought one from ebay. I knew it would not work with the LSA but with a little modification I was able to transform them into what you see. I cut the part in half and was able to set them back further on the motor to align with the intercooler plenium. The drivers side only needed a small cut to trim off the forward edge, the passenger side needed some serious changes to work. I modified the existing plastic part with a new opening for the oil fill and the dipstick opening and then made a polyester mold to lay up a high temp epoxy part. Part was laid up and parts painted. Had to fab up custom brackets and was able to use the fastener locations as part of the design. One cool design feature was the ability to keep the CHEVROLET logo detail on the newley molded part! Name:  FB_IMG_1458612615033.jpg
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      Next on the list is the front radiator support, I did buy an after market part but it did not fit and was a not what I wanted. So after a little thought I came up with an idea on how to make one that was formed to the current sheet metal. Basically using the surfboard layup process and a little surfacing. I used carbon fiber to achieve a thin strong and stiff part along with epoxy resin to tackle the heat. I also found a LSA logo from down under on ebay which fit perfectly onto the panel. Chip also chimed in and said I should add a cut line on the part to make it look like 2 pc and that was a very good idea and also acted as a color break on the part. The RING Brothers parts added to the detail and the part came out so well most people think that it is a production factory part.
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      Cruise night in Huntington Beach, we cruise every Wed night and we invite all cars to come cruise with us. You have a cool car bring it down! Info at "Surf City Classics" on Face book or instagram.

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    14. #14
      Join Date
      Nov 2006
      Location
      Mountain Springs, Texas
      Posts
      4,488
      Country Flag: United States
      Ouch, Chip Foose told you your engine bay looks like a parts bin. That’s got to leave a mark. LOL...

      Looks great.

      Don
      1969 Camaro - LSA 6L90E AME sub/IRS
      1957 Buick Estate Wagon
      1959 El Camino - Ironworks frame
      1956 Cameo - full C5 suspension/drivetrain
      1959 Apache Fleetside

    15. #15
      Join Date
      Aug 2007
      Location
      Jonesboro, Arkansas
      Posts
      2,506
      Country Flag: United States
      What steering wheel is that? Looks really good.

      Carl Wilson
      1968 Camaro - T-56 6 speed - 383 Stroker, 2014 Mustang GT seats. FiTech EFI, Tanks Inc. Tank with Deutschwerks fuel pump.

    16. #16
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      Huntington Beach,Ca.
      Posts
      16
      The steering wheel is a MOMO Millinium Evo - Size: 350mm steering wheel! Around $300.00 The badge is a 67 camaro fender badge and was recessed into the horn pad to give a factory look. Also check out the MOMO GT50 steering wheel which is new and is also a good choice.

      - - - Updated - - -

      I guess it was the push to make the valve covers and radiator cover. Thanks for the cudos!

    17. #17
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      No. CA
      Posts
      34
      What fuel delivery setup did you use with the LSA? We are working on a C2 corvette restomod with LSA/6L90 takeout from a CTSV.
      It looks like you have a boost sensitive regulator setup. Have you experienced any problems with this setup? Any dry sumping on max throttle, etc? What fuel pump/tank setup did you use?

      Did you consider using the Vworx pulse width modulation setup?

      Trans Pan: We modified a 6L80 pan's rear tab align with 6L90 mounting bolts and gained about 1.25" inches in ground clearance. Have to use new 6L80 filter with the new pan also.





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